At downtown tattoo convention, the ink and the stories flow

Samantha Castrovinci, with Warlocks Tattoos in Raleigh, tattoos Ryan Cleary of Fuquay-Varina, during the Cape Fear Tattoo and Art Expo at the Wilmington Convention Center on Saturday, April 27, 2013. The expo continues on Sunday from noon-6 p.m.

Published: Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 7:15 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 7:15 p.m.

The industrial thrum of tattoo needles is sounding throughout the Wilmington Convention Center this weekend. And while getting a tattoo is always a weighty decision, some of the lines being etched by those needles mean more than others.

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For Matt Cohen, it's not only about the tattoo he's having inked, but the person drawing it on him.

Cohen has known Jade Pinto, the woman behind the needle, for more than a decade, and they lived together when they were both in school at Johnson and Wales University.

“It was me coming home and getting ready to go to work at 7 a.m. and she's tattooing someone's (butt) on the floor at 7 a.m.,” Cohen said.

Pinto, who runs Ink Sanctuary in Islip, N.Y., has been tattooing for about 12 years and attends about five conventions a year. In addition to working on Cohen's tattoo on Saturday, she's also worked with him at a convention in Asheville in March and during a session at her Long Island shop.

“I just can't wait for it to be finished,” said Cohen, who will head to New York in two weeks to have the finishing touches put on the tattoo.

The image itself shined various shades of blue with some lines waiting to be filled in on Cohen's left arm on Saturday, commemorating his four years in the Navy and the struggles he endured afterward.

A golden dragon symbolizes that Cohen crossed the international date line during his time in the Navy, while a shellback tortoise shows that he also crossed the equator.

Then there are waves, symbolizing the year Cohen spent living in Japan and the chaotic nature of life.

“For me, it's just a permanent way to display life's events,” Cohen said. “I'm not putting a cheeseburger on my arm because I like cheeseburgers.”

The final element, on the inside of Cohen's arm, is an aspirin pill with his mother's initials inside it. She committed suicide with aspirin, and Cohen had his own near-fatal experience with the pills recently, suffering a ruptured ulcer due to use of the pills and nearly dying on the operating table.

After that experience, Cohen added, he decided it was time for the tattoo, and he thought Pinto was the only artist who could do it justice.

Pinto said she was enjoying the convention so far and had done a fair amount of business.

“I like it,” she added. “It's like the ones that are more family-oriented – everyone's family.”

Josh McDowell, an artist who works at Asheville's Invidia Tattoo, was working at his first tattoo convention.

“It's a lot smaller than the other ones I've been to,” said McDowell, who has attended two other conventions. “But it's cool. I feel like the quality of tattoos is high.”

About 1,500 people had attended the event as of early Saturday afternoon, said Bart Andrews, a local tattoo artist who organized the convention.

The convention will continue from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, with special events including an exhibition by Skin Mechanics suspension artists and best in show judging and awards.